Art of the matter: Louis Vuitton and Urs Fischer unite

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“I never wanted to be an artist. I still don’t know whether I want to be an artist,” says Urs Fischer. At the time of our video call, Fischer has spent the past ten months in Los Angeles and it’s from his family home’s garden that he reflects on his métier. He may not have explicitly wished for a career in the fine arts, but it’s a field Fischer has excelled in. To date, his work – sculptures, paintings, collages, drawings and installations – has been shown globally and among other institutions, features in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Swiss Kunstmuseum Basel. In 2009, five years after opening Kir Royal, his large-scale solo exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zurich, Fischer was the subject of a single-artist show at Manhattan’s New Museum, in a display that commanded all three of the gallery’s expansive floors. With Fischer’s CV in mind, I ask whether he could envision any alternative career path. Has Urs Fischer ever hatched a plan B? “A plan B? I don’t know what else I would do,” Fischer counters. He may however have found a new hobby. “I like the idea of long-distance walking. I am a real pedestrian. I like everything about the concept of ‘pedestrian’. You see different stuff.” It was on a recent long walk through his neighbourhood in California that Fischer, who grew up in the Swiss city of Zurich and has lived in Amsterdam, London and New York, happened across a wishing tree. On his phone, a snapshot shows tree branches vibrant with many layers of graffiti; initials carved into tree bark have been left to weather. “This way of leaving a mark, I think that goes all the way back,” says Fischer. “We humans have a desire to mark things, or to leave a mark to reflect back on who we are. You breathe against a window, you leave a mark of your existence. We want to engage, we want to communicate. We want to feel alive.” This has led Fischer to ponder the nature of making art. “That’s what a lot of art is, in a way. Visual art has a physical nature and we can relate to that because we also have a physical nature. This kind of mark-making is a very human thing and it can be super elaborate or it can be just a simple imprint.”

It’s a big concept; simplified, it may be visualised with Fischer’s first partnership with Louis Vuitton, unveiled in 2019 as part of the make’s Artycapucines collection. An ambitious annual initiative, the project invites contemporary artist to swap canvases for Louis Vuitton’s Capucines bag, a top-handle design first introduced in 2013 and christened after the Paris address of the brand’s first boutique, opened in 1854. Contemporary artists Alex Israel, Tschabalala Self and Josh Wood have all emblazoned the maison’s accessory with their work. When it was Fischer’s turn, the artist decided to leave the bag’s main body untouched. The artist instead left his mark in the shape of a small hook fitted to the base of an all-white Taurillon leather Capucines, from which a selection of produce (an egg, a green apple, a mushroom, a banana) modelled to size from silicon could be extended via a gilt brass chain. The mobile-like design has since found a champion in Fischer’s sister, who uses the bag every day. “I think she liked the strawberry most,” he says. “She asked me a few days ago if I have another one.” Fischer’s 2019 Artycapucines design was the amuse-bouche to LV X UF. Released this January as a landmark collaboration between the artist and Louis Vuitton, Fischer has shaped a capsule collection that comprises accessories, clothing, shoes and leather goods. He also dreamt up a cast of fantastical characters – a cat resting in a hammock-like banana skin, a halved avocado and a fried egg among them – which stars in a short film and livens up the brand’s window displays. “It’s been a question of telling a single story through multiple contexts, whether that’s a leather bag or a moving image,” says Fischer of his sophomore alliance with Louis Vuitton. On camera mimicking the hand-motion of chopping vegetables, Fischer today likens working with the brand’s expert teams to entering a professional kitchen, with sous-chefs at his disposal. “It doesn’t necessarily taste better, but it is seductive,” he says of the set-up. “The rewarding part of this collaboration has been the chance to work closely with all these highly skilled and knowledgeable specialists, all experts in their respective fields. As an artist I’m often working alone, so to be engaged in multiple dialogues has been enriching, especially given the isolated nature of these times.” In tandem with the brand’s artisans, Fischer realised the collection from his studio in New York, an expansive warehouse space located in Brooklyn’s Red Hook area. It was here that Fischer trialled – and eventually “weeded out” – several ideas for his Louis Vuitton offering. He describes weaving silver threads and layering cuts of printed, diaphanous mousseline fabric; next, he experimented with the small drawings he regularly sketches on his iPad, to then text to friends. “I use them to communicate,” he explains. “It’s a little thing I do, without the weight of creating an artwork.” In the end, Fischer’s hand-drawn take on Louis Vuitton’s emblematic Monogram made the cut.

LV這個包「加量不加價」超驚喜！附上名片夾、錢包 放大老花超吸睛

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▲LV Crafty系列，無論大包或小皮件都實用又搶眼。（影／實習記者蕭亭瑀攝）

實習記者蕭亭瑀 / 台北報導

經典不敗的Louis Vuitton推出新花樣Crafty系列，將品牌Monogram老花融合了街頭塗鴉印花，看似民族風的圖騰設計讓人耳目一新，實際開箱會發現不但外表吸睛，而且非常實用，尤其Pochette Félicie鍊帶小包裡，還藏了兩個可獨立使用的小皮件，驚喜度滿分。

▲LV Crafty系列相當豐富，包包、小皮件、服裝都有。（圖／實習記者蕭亭瑀攝）

搶眼的LV Crafty系列，除了巧妙的揉合了精緻工藝，也讓之前觀望monogram包款、配飾和時裝的朋友們有了更多的選擇。LV Crafty系列產品線非常廣，從很火的帽箱包到T恤、球鞋，甚至可放置小物的收納盒、小筆袋都有，使用很多撞色元素，黑色經典、紅色奔放，整體大膽又生動。

▲LV Crafty On The Go 焦糖奶油色帆布托特包，NT $96,500。（圖／品牌提供）

LV On The Go 托特包除了是品牌經典，更是現在最流行的款式，LV Crafty系列特別推出焦糖奶油色，讓包包散發了秋日氣息，整體也比黑色或是經典老花托特包看起來輕盈年輕，為每日的通勤穿搭增添新活力，展現時髦的個性。無庸置疑的超大內容量，當成公事包、媽媽包、或是旅行包包都很合適。

開口的部分貼心的做了環扣設計，相較於許多托特包來得更加安全，環扣也可以拿來掛鑰匙包或是耳機，不怕在包包裡大海撈針。最值得一提的是LV Crafty On The Go包包，附上了長背帶，讓你除了手提之外還能單肩背。

▲LV Crafty On The Go袋口有勾扣、容量大，還有長背帶。（圖／實習記者蕭亭瑀攝）

如果想選擇百搭色黑色，一定要考慮CP值爆表的Crafty系列特別版Pochette Félicie鍊帶小包！打開包包就會發現「三合一」的驚喜，擁有黑白撞色的Monogram Empreinte牛皮鍊帶包的同時，裡面還有一個相同花色的拉鍊收納袋，可以當錢包使用，以及一個配有8個信用卡夾層的純黑長卡夾，撞色的工藝風完美點綴了包包，可拆式的設計，讓你以一個價格直接納入三個LV小皮件。

▲LV Crafty FÉLICIE POCHETTE，內有可分離的拉鍊袋、卡片夾，NT $56,500。

LV Crafty系列的紅色小配件們也相當討喜，熱情奔放的紅色加上鮮明奪目的幾何花紋散發出活潑感，Elizabeth筆袋還配上了LV Circle拉鍊頭，體現了品牌的標誌性格調，適合放置鋼筆、鉛筆或畫筆，甚至也可以放一些化妝品，實用又別緻，買來自用或當成禮物，都很適合。

▲LV CRAFTY ELIZABETH 筆袋，NT $16,800。

【LV】盤點5大聯名袋款 當Louis Vuitton遇上村上隆、草間彌生

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撰文： 世界高級品 最後更新日期： 2021-01-09 15:00

與不同的設計師合作、跟別的品牌共享設計流程，這樣的聯名合作已經成為現代時尚的一部分，很大程度上要歸功於法國Louis Vuitton。品牌多年來已成功進行了一系列合作、推出各種膠囊系列，被視為時尚聯名商品協作的先驅。LV是全球最受歡迎的奢侈品牌之一，下面讓我們一起回顧過去5個最受歡迎的聯名款。

按圖查看過去5個最受歡迎的LV聯名款▼▼▼

  1. LV x Supreme

早在2017年，LV與美國街頭服飾品牌Supreme展開了一場真正的突破性合作，推手是當時的LV男裝設計師Kim Jones。兩者的合作在LV男裝時裝秀上首次亮相，聯名商品讓時尚圈和潮流圈都瞬間沸騰，成為年輕時尚最受追捧和渴望的名牌。Supreme極具標誌性的紅色和白色，加上LV Monogram經典老花與Epi皮包是該系列中最令人垂涎​​的單品。這項合作之所以值得關注，不僅是因為它取得了成功，更是因為它為同類型的其他合作夥伴關係打開了大門，讓其他奢侈品牌也有活水注入。

  1. LV x 村上隆

LV x 村上隆系列在2003年春季首次亮相時，就因其搭上復古風潮而廣受歡迎，與日本當代藝術家村上隆（Takashi Murakami）合作的是時任LV女裝系列掌舵人的馬克·雅各布斯（Marc Jacobs）。以標誌性的大膽彩色調色板重新塑造了LV經典印花，鮮豔的色彩塗在白色或黑色塗層帆布上，此系列的手袋成為芭黎絲·希爾頓、潔西卡·辛普森等2000年代初期明星的首選。多年來，兩方繼續合作推出新作，例如受歡迎的Cerises小花。

  1. LV x Richard Prince

LV藝術總監Marc Jacobs大力將藝術與時尚作結合，造就了許多LV與藝術家合作的系列，像是與美國藝術家Richard Prince的合作。2008年春夏，運用藝術家的畫作和攝影作品聞名，以17種夢幻水彩色彩賦予老花Monogram朦朧的美感，推出Watercolor Aquarelle Speedy水彩包。爾後採用藝術家的「Jokes」系列畫作元素，創造出Monogram Jokes手提袋也是令人記憶深刻。

【相關文章．按圖率先預覽：【LV】當Monogram遇上Pochette Metis 郵差袋 10個成經典的原因】

  1. LV x 草間彌生

LV與現代藝術界的關係而廣為人知，因此LV 2012年宣布與「圓點發燒友」草間彌生（Yayoi Kusama）合作時，這並不奇怪，也讓創意總監Marc Jacobs的成功合作名單再多上一位重量級藝術家。兩方合作將許多LV代表性的手袋如Speedy、Neverfull、Papillion、Lockit和Pochette Accessoires重新構想成色彩鮮豔的抽象藝術品，Monogram帆布和Monogram Vernis包融入對比色的圓點印花，更加醒目。

  1. LV x Stephen Sprouse

LV與已故塗鴉大師Stephen Sprouse的合作，是品牌最受推崇的合作之一，也是許多LV收藏家的最愛。該系列最初於2001年春夏發布，其特色是由藝術家和創意總監Marc Jacobs創作的塗鴉Monogram印花。Marc Jacobs為紀念2004年因癌症去世的藝術家，在2009年再次復刻，也帶進塗鴉，並加入Stephen Sprouse最初畫出的玫瑰素描。

【相關文章：2020各品牌Logo印花袋人氣爆紅 盤點8款最觸目的老花袋（按圖預覽）】

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【本文獲「世界高級品」授權轉載，原文：5個最受歡迎的LV聯名包】